Letter to the Editor: Let our votes reflect our values

To the Editor: 

There are a lot of reasons I consider myself lucky. I have lived happily in Lake Forest Park for the past 16 years, and one of the reasons I was able to afford it was that I happened to be looking for a first home *just* as the housing market crashed. 

Lucky, right? I also belong to late GenX, the last cohort of college students who could graduate without a mountain of debt. So I had saved enough for a down payment at *just* the right time. 

Our city is a gem atop Lake Washington. I can tell strangers I live in LFP, but even if they only live 15 miles away, many aren't quite sure where it is. I think a major reason for that is, save for Town Center, we don't have many businesses that people outside the city frequent. 

Which means that funding city operations via business and sales tax revenue isn’t feasible. Which leaves us with property taxes. While we say we like sidewalks and parks, we voted down a levy lift in 2021 that would have funded exactly that. 

This time around in 2025, when we say we like the responsiveness of a community police force, we have the opportunity to cast a vote that aligns with that value. We believe in human-centered crisis response like RCR (“racer”), and we can earmark funds with a modest property tax levy. 

By voting down levies for decades, our community has been borrowing against the future. We are all lucky to live here, and it is time for our votes to reflect the best of our values, for them to reflect the caring, safe community we want to build for future generations. 

Please vote YES on Prop 1 on November 4th 

Marty Ross 

Lake Forest Park